The Scorpio and the Swan
by b-mystique
Summary: They eyed each other for a long while, a hint of humor sparkling in both of their eyes. They both knew that this particular discussion would never be over and that their issues would never be solved, but they were both too stubborn not to try.


**A/N:** I agreed to do this if I posted another story anytime soon...I had the honor of being interviewed for the "Getting to Know..." portion of the Chit Chat Authors. Much to my surprise I was nominated for the 2010 Profiler's Choice Awards, along with many other amazingly talented writers. Anyways if anyone is interested my interview is up along with Nagen66, Monkeywand,Hidge...just to name a few. I encourage you to check them out, and don't forget to vote! : )

I guess this could be considered a tag for Devil's Night or it could stand out on it's own. It's sort of a common thing between the two. Perhaps this is a different way of looking at it though. The title came from the fable. Anyways, hope you enjoy either way. : )

**Disclaimer:** I don't have a beta so all errors are my own. As for CM, I don't own it and I don't own 'em...though I could if I have Garcia do a "thing" : )

~-o-

He knew it was coming.

Hotch was oddly predictable. So when his Chief suddenly appeared at the door, he wasn't particularly surprised. He remained silent when the stoic man leaned against the desk on the other side of the room. He nodded in acknowledgment of the man's presence and went back to staring at the "drawer of fun" that his Baby Girl had presented to him so many months ago. He didn't use it much, this room that she had made his own. He didn't need to, not anymore,but on a difficult day he relished the silence that the room brought.

"Do you miss it?" Hotch asked, his voice dead and even, as customary for him.

"Miss what?" he feigned obliviousness as his eyes finally met those of his boss.

Hotch nodded slightly, already anticipating Morgan's attempt at deflection. He refused to allow it to deter him from continuing however. "Being the leader. Do you miss it?"

Morgan sighed, reclining back into the chair and rubbing his hands over his bald head. "No. No, Hotch. I don't miss it. It wasn't my place on the team," he answered evenly, rocking in the swivel chair as he turned it to face Hotch.

"You were good at it," he paused and waited for a response from Morgan, but the young agent merely shrugged. "When you question my judgment...my decisions at a scene, I can't help but think that you miss being the leader. Though, I suppose you've always done that, even before your stint as temporary UC..."

"Somebody has to," Morgan responded with a small grin, that disappeared as quickly as it came. His brow now furrowed and jaw clenched as he decided which emotion he was going to let take over.

"I'm sorry?"

"C'mon Hotch. You and I both know that, that's part of the reason why you brought me on the team. Somebody has to question you. No one else will do it, and somebody has to be the voice of reason."

"You're not always right," Hotch responded somberly.

"I'm not always wrong either," Morgan shot back.

"I wish you didn't feel the need to challenge authority so much..." Hotch murmured quietly as the errant thought fell from his lips.

Morgan knew the quiet murmur wasn't intended for his ears, but he quietly agreed. Hotch would never bring up Morgan's past directly. They all had a general rule that they would never profile one another, but the parallels of their pasts and their present didn't go unnoticed by their fellow teammates. It was true that Morgan had a problem with authority. His years of being abused by an authoritative figure...a father figure pretty much destroyed the notion of him immediately respecting anyone who was in a higher ranking then him. Respect and trust had to be earned. That was what he learned from those moments that scarred his childhood, that and having a voice.

He used to be small and timid...and voiceless. So many years he spent suffering in silence. Fear and loyalty strangled him, hampered his ability to cry out, to ask for help. As he grew older he learned the importance of having a voice, of speaking up, speaking out. No one would ever be able to take that from him again. He was generally considered the outspoken one, the opinionated one. He knew that sometimes no one understood that, didn't respect what he had to say, or perhaps didn't respect how he had to say it. He didn't care though, because never again would he suffer in silence and as long as he had something to say, he would say it. He never apologized for that.

"So you wouldn't have gone into that building either?" Hotch broke the silence, his brow raised as he crossed his arms across his chest and waited for a response.

Morgan was startled out of his reverie, shaking the dark introspection out of his head,"You know damn well I would have."

"So what's the problem?Why would you _challenge_ your superior, _question_ your superior's decision to save a person's life when you would have done so yourself?"

"It's what _I_ do, Hotch. "

And it was. He respected his colleagues, each and every one of them, but he knew that the others weren't nearly as vocal as he was. Even when they were concerned themselves, when they shared a similar opinion as him, they kept they're mouths shut. They viewed it as being disrespectful or perhaps insubordinate. It was a role that he was willing to take upon his own shoulders if he had to. As he told Hotch earlier, somebody had to be the voice of reason, and if it had to be him so be it.

"You have a son. A little boy that needs you now more than ever. Our job is dangerous...it's risky, and everyday there is a possibility that one of us might not get back on that Learjet and make it home. I'll be damned if I don't tell you when you're doing something reckless that might prevent you from getting home to Jack!" his voice elevated as the passion took over.

"You're allowed to take risks but none of the rest of us can?" Hotch questioned, his voice even and seemingly devoid of any emotion. "Is it that you don't _trust_ us to get the job done ourselves or is it that you think you can do better?"

Morgan sighed. _Trust_. It always went back to trust. Despite him working alongside Hotch for nearly a decade, this discussion always went back to trust. He didn't know how to explain to Hotch that it had nothing to do with trusting his team. Hotch once asked him if he trusted the team with his life, and it was a question that thoroughly ticked him off. He trusted them with his life. He trusted them with his past, with a great deal of his secrets. He trusted them with his heart and soul. Hotch never seemed to get that. He wouldn't still work for Hotch or his team...his family, if he didn't trust them. Trust was an iffy thing, and while he would be the first to admit that he had trust issues, understandably so, he didn't know how to explain to Hotch that it's the little things that matter.

Trust was something that could be measured in the tiniest of ways. It took him a long time to truly trust an individual but it was the little things that mattered. He showed his trust through the tiniest of acts, allowing JJ to bring him a cup of coffee...trusting that she would get it just right, or not retaliate by putting something into it one of those days, after he was particularly honest with her...telling Garcia some of his deepest, darkest secrets...letting Prentiss cook him dinner every now and then or just hanging out in general...letting Reid dog sit...falling asleep in their presence...small acts that said so much.

" It has nothing to do with that!It's what _I _do Hotch. You call it reckless, that's fine. Whatever you want to call it, it's what I do. I'll take the hits first before I allow my team...my family, to take them!" Morgan exclaimed through clenched teeth.

He never fully understood this question. Hotch had a role to fulfill on the team...they all did. Morgan considered himself the protector. He was impulsive, the risk taker, and at times unorthodox. Hotch was rational, focused, the one that brought the team together. He was their trusty leader, leading them into battle. When the part he played on their unit altered, especially when he took on one of the other "roles" then the entire unit was unbalanced.

"Hmm." Hotch murmured quietly, he stared intently at the young agent. It was difficult to tell where the line was between Morgan being protective and Morgan being reckless. "Yes, and I feel the same about my team. You people are my family. It's my job, professionally and personally, to look out for you all as well. It's my job to protect people. Why can't you let me do that?"

" You have Jack, Hotch," Morgan shook his head in frustration, eyes glossed with stubborn tears that would never fall."My father died, trying to protect me, to protect others. He died right in front of me. He was my hero, he still is. I respect my father for being so selfless, but I resent him too. I wish he would have lived longer, I wish I would have had him growing up. I don't wish that on any kid, on any little boy, and I'll be damned if I let that happen to Jack. You have people who care about you Hotch, people who need you-"

"You think you don't?" Hotch interrupted, challenging the young man. "Morgan every time you make an impulsive decision, do something stupid and reckless the team suffers!You said so yourself, we're a family here. We spend more time together than we do with our own families. We're all we have."

Morgan nodded quietly. This was the point of the argument where he didn't have much of a response. He knew that Hotch would do whatever it took to protect his team, and he'd proven that various times in all the years that he had known him. He also knew that he would do whatever it took to make that job a little easier for Hotch. Hotch was all that Jack had left since Hailey was killed. JJ had a fiance and a son, and Morgan would make sure that she stuck around long enough to see the boy grow up. Reid was just a kid, no matter how much he matured he would still be a kid, his younger brother who got robbed of a decent childhood and he would do whatever it took to make sure that his adulthood wouldn't be robbed as well. Prentiss was far more damaged than any of them would ever know, she always seemed the most together and that worried him because he knew one of these days she wouldn't be able to compartmentalize any longer, and he'd make sure that, that day would be far off. Rossi still had amends to make, ghosts that haunted him and he wanted to make sure the elder agent completed his mission. Then there was Garcia, his baby girl was innocent and unjaded and he'd do whatever it took to keep her that way. The fact of the matter was, of all the people on his team, in this little pseudo- family, he was the one with nothing to lose.

"Morgan?" Hotch's voice was firm, his lips pursed together in a grim line.

Morgan's lip pulled up in a half grin. He recognized that they had finally reached the inevitable impasse of what had become their signature argument. He responded as he always did," I won't apologize for what I said, Hotch. You know that,"

He waited for Hotch's signature nod before he continued, "But, you're right. We're all we have. No more burning buildings for you and jumping off of buildings for me. I tell you what...if you promise to not slip into your impulsive side, I'll work on not being as impulsive and reckless myself?"

They eyed each other for a long while, a hint of humor sparkling in both of their eyes. They both knew that this particular discussion would never be over and that their issues would never be resolved, but they were both too stubborn not to try.

Hotch finally pushed himself away from the desk and headed for the door. "Deal." he uttered before exiting the room and disappearing down the hall.

~o~


End file.
